Massa on Beck: 'You can take anything out of context'

Updated 6:51 p.m.By Scott Butterworth and Garance Franke-Ruta
Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday evening that he groped a congressional staffer while he was in office, but he denied that it was a sexual incident.

"I tickled him until he couldn't breathe, and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday. It was 'kill the old guy,' " Massa said on conservative commentator Glenn Beck's Fox News Channel show. "You can take anything out of context."

He denied that he did anything sexual or criminal with congressional staff.

And he recanted his assertion over the weekend that House leaders had forced him out of office to help a health-care bill pass. "I wasn't forced out. I forced myself out," Massa said.

Beck responded to that by telling viewers of his highly rated TV show that he had "wasted an hour of your time" by having Massa as a guest.

It was Massa's first televised appearance since saying last Friday that he would resign from Congress, citing an investigation by the House ethics committee into allegations of inappropriate conduct. That resignation was accepted by the House on Tuesday.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Massa has been under investigation by the House ethics committee for allegedly groping male staffers working in his office.

Massa criticized the timing of the Post report, calling it "odd."

Beck tried several times to get Massa to explain why he would choose to quit the House rather than stay to fight the allegations. But Massa said the proper thing for him to do was to resign: "I'm saying my behavior was wrong. I should have never allowed myself to be as familiar with my staff as I was."

The liberal Democrat also said, "If someone on my staff thought I was uncongressional, that I was inappropriate, I own that. That's why I resigned."

Asked by Beck whether there were any "Tiger Woods" phone or text messages that would come out, Massa replied, "I'm sure there are text messages" because he bantered back and forth with his staff.

Massa said he had lived in Washington with single male staffers, "all the bachelors and me," until his chief of staff objected. "So I moved into my office," he told Beck.

The invitation onto Beck's show came two days after Massa said on a New York radio show that he had been forced out by House leaders over his opposition to a health-care bill.

The former lawmaker also said last Wednesday that he would not run for reelection because of health worries.

Poor Beck instead of getting a rational man who was going to blame the White House and Democrats he got a man who continues to not tell the truth. There's no need for Beck to apologize since he does the same thing night after night after night after night...

Glen Beck-me-to-death with your becker, has been had by himself no less. These cartoon rightwing lunatics thought they had something embarrassing on the President of the United States. Beckistan, you just got tickled and dissembled, dude. YOU ARE A JOKE.

Watching Beck's empathetic face was just priceless. That was like watching through the eye of the security camera at St. Elizabeth. Wow! Crazy and crazier. Modestly entertaining and utterly meaningless.

It will certainly be interesting to see the strong arm tactics used by Pelosi, Reid, and the Whitehouse to pass health care. If I were a dem with reservations, I'd watch my back! Sounds like Massa is a guy with issues, but can't blame him for bailing rather than crossing those guys.

Beck should apologize to his viewers for wasting their time every time that he is on the air. The only reason that he wanted Massa on his show was that he thought that he was going to get a liberal democrat to blast the democratic party. This would be keeping within the Fox News ongoing strategy of casting negativity at the Democrats and Obama. I wonder if the Fox "personalities" have an incentive clause in their contracts that call for a bonus if they cast aspersions at the Dems.

"I tickled him until he couldn't breathe, and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday. It was 'kill the old guy,' " Massa said on conservative commentator Glenn Beck's Fox News Channel show. "You can take anything out of context."

Uh, folks, that doesn't sound like the games most men play on their 50th birthday. This could easily be rewritten as "I asphyxiated him by manual stimulation and it took four guys to drag me off him."

And last week, wasn't he leaving office due to 24-hour leprosy or something? Now this week we get to hear about naked Rahm Emmanuel poking Massa in the shower...

Folks, how does the Nation of Washington, Monroe and Lincoln keep electing these weirdos to high office? Liberty weeps...http://presidentsuit.com

In some cities Narco Cops are replaced every six months in order to keep them honest. Becoming too familiar with drug dealers has led to corruption. The same system should be used with politicians. The longer they stay in office the more crooked they become. The search for an honest man is never ending. They live only in heaven. Don't expect any politician to be Gods gift to the public. If you do you will be disappointed.